Friday, March 9, 2012

Another Bust

At last, it seemed like the stars were all aligned and I'd finally be able to get my northern lights photos.  The largest solar flare activity for the next five to ten years had occurred and the show was supposed to be spectacular and visible as far south as Ohio.  

I cleared the card in my camera, charged the battery, and made sure all the settings were correct on the camera.  

I got up and looked out the back door (wouldn't you know my house only has one window facing north, and that's the small one upstairs) about every 20-30 minute, starting as soon as it got dark.  By midnight there was still no activity, so I went to bed, setting up the camera by the little window:

 

I checked around 12:30, and again after 1:00.  When I looked out the window and saw this,


I figured it was time to give up.  This was around 2:00 AM.  Woke up to snow on the ground this morning.

So, another northern lights alert turns out to be no good.  It was a crushing blow, although I hear the show was good over in Washington state.  Hm...I wonder if my sister saw them?

I had another alert on my email this afternoon - another huge solar flare has erupted on the sun and is flinging an electromagnetic storm our way.  This one is supposed to hit Saturday, so "they" are saying to be on the lookout for auroras late on the 10th and early on the 11th.  Will I be waiting, camera ready to go?  You bet!  Hope springs eternal.

3 comments:

  1. I feel your pain. Likewise unable to see them here in Oregon.

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  2. You are very dedicated. I hope you get some photos because there is no way I would be getting up in the night but would love to see your shots! Good luck!

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  3. It was another bust over the weekend - this time the clouds moved in pretty early. I only checked the sky when I got up to use the bathroom, but otherwise figured luck wasn't with me. "Some Day," though! :)

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